1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid ballasted support base which is portable and may be used to support a large variety of objects, equipment, and structures.
2. Description of Related Art
Support bases are well known in the art. They have long been used to support many different kinds of objects and structures. For example, support bases are commonly used to support antennas for receiving and transmitting communication signals, sensors for monitoring weather or other conditions, and lights for illuminating a work site.
It is advantageous in many applications to use support bases which are portable and efficiently transported. Support bases are often only needed for a short period of time in one location. For example, a support base maybe used to warn motorists of road construction on a highway. When the road construction is completed, it is necessary to disassemble the support structure and transport it to another site. In this application, it is highly advantageous to have a support base which is easy to assemble and disassemble, may be stored in small spaces, and is easily transported in a vehicle.
It has been found that ballasted support bases are well adapted to be used in application which require portability. Ballast support bases are well known in the art. They are generally designed with a tank which is capable of holding a liquid or sand. The tank rests on the ground and a pole or mast is attached to the tank. The weight of the filled tank maintains the pole in a vertical position. When it is necessary to move the support bases, the tank is emptied.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,119,588 to Keats, 3,219,301 to Robinson et al., 3,794,279 to Kramer, 3,841,631 to Dolan, 4,145,044 to Wilson et al., 5,259,612 to Matherne et al., and 5,460,353 to Rittenhouse. Disclose ballasted support bases which may be used to support different kinds of objects. Most of these devices use a single ballast tank to support a pole. However, none of these references disclose a support base which comprises a plurality of mutually supporting ballast tanks which may be disassembled and transported independently. Furthermore, none of these references disclose ballast tanks which may be stacked to occupy minimum space. Although Robinson et al. discloses a support base with three cans, these cans do not provide surfaces which abut each other or are mutually supporting. The cans are merely held against a tube by a paper band. Therefore, the prior art has failed to provide a support base which is stable enough to support a large variety of objects, equipment, and structures, and may be easily and efficiently transported.